The men who stare at goats
by Jon Ronson · first published 2004
32% recommend68% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Fun, readable nonfiction account of the US military's bizarre paranormal and psyops experiments, such as remote viewing. Suits readers curious about wasted tax dollars and Cold War New Age woo; skip the film for detail.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A journalist tells intertwined anecdotes about US military forays into New Age and paranormal methods of war.
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…let us know; and much of what we think we know is false. Getting people to believe falsehoods about the programs was a big part of them, and it worked way better that they had hoped. Jon Ronson's book Men Who Stare at Goats is a terrifying exploration of what these programs were really about. Make no mistake, these programs were prototypes for still-ongoing attacks on the American public.
on “The CIA’s human experiments with mind control (2017)” ↗…hundreds of congratulatory messages I received, one stuck out: “Were you a bully at school?” As it turns out, the author is Jon Ronson. He's well worth checking out. I've particularly enjoyed The Men Who Stare at Goats (the book), The Secret Rulers of the World, and The Psychopath Test.
on “How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life” ↗The most (subtly) terrifying book on US PSYOPS I have read is "Men Who Stare at Goats", by Jon Ronson. Read carefully, it demonstrates that the US has engaged in PSYOPS against American citizens for decades, that continues to this day. If you thought the CIA tried to use ESP against the…
on “PSYWAR/PSYOPs” ↗…Americans that it had been attempted. Ultimately, that work has to be seen as the actual point of the operation. There is no clear indication of the purpose of the operation. Jon Ronson's (terrifying) book, "Men Who Stare at Goats", explored the history of the operation and the group that perpetrated it. He made clear that it is not just historical, but an ongoing operation, a successful attack on the American public. Ronald Reagan's…
on “Navy “UFO Patent” Documents Talk of “Spacetime Modification Weapon”” ↗…or trying to go to war. > "those thought controlling are a thousand miles away in the protected confines of solitude, not hiding behind a bush a dozen feet away." Have you read Jon Ronson's book The Men Who Stare At Goats[1]? An account of the US army's paranormal investigations. It is non-fiction but reads like Catch-22. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Men_Who_Stare_at_Goats
on “Harnessing telepathy using quantum mechanics” ↗The entire magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman - also anything by Jon Ronson (particularly 'the Men Who Stare at Goats' or 'Them'). You'll learn from any of these - and have a great time!
on “Ask HN: I'm going on an internetless vacation today. Any book recommendations?” ↗"Men Who Stare at Goats", by Jon Ronson is a terrifying tale, if read carefully, of PSYOPs agencies and the ops they run against the American public.
on “Navy Got 'UFO' Patent Granted by Warning of Similar Chinese Tech Advances” ↗The most terrifying book I have read recently is "Men Who Stare at Goats", by Jon Ronson. He keeps it light, on the surface. If you read what it is really telling you, all these programs like MK-ULTRA were not disbanded, and are still being used against the American public.…
on “How a deadly fall revealed CIA secrets” ↗It's simple: if the Soviets have it, we should too. I'd point you in the direction of Jon Ronson's The Men Who Stare At Goats for more detail (the book is non-fiction, but the movie is fiction).
on “The CIA's Secret Quest For Mind Control” ↗Yes. People assume that since it was reported on, it was shut down, but there was never any evidence of that. The principals got promotions on schedule, and retired with pensions. Jon Ronson's "Men Who Stare at Goats" is an exploration of the recent state of the program, terrifying if read carefully. Certain of the principals retired very, very wealthy. How they got that way is not revealed, but access to damaging…
on “Project MKUltra” ↗…experiments, or any of the other obvious BS. There was, instead, an operation to convince people that there had been such experiments. The operation was a success: people do believe it, to this day. "Men Who Stare at Goats" is a terrifying book by Jon Ronson exploring the program. You have to read between the lines to pick up the full consequence. This stuff has all the hallmarks of such an operation. It is hard to imagine…
on “Emails show Navy's 'UFO' patents went through significant internal review” ↗…approach to psyops at the dawn of the Cold War? Really?? That part is not super surprising. There was a ton of para-psychological, New Age woo-woo happening within military circles of the 60s, 70s, 80s. Men who stare at Goats is a fun book that delves into some of the really bizarre psychological experiments the US military ran and a lot of pop culture draws from that intersection, Metal Gear Solid for example. There was a…
on “A science fiction obsession led me to psychological war” ↗…it)? Was this the first documentation regarding MKULTRA/ARTICHOKE/BLUEBIRD? For those interesting in CIA's attempts to explore New Age (e.g. apply "remote viewing") I can recommend the documentary The Men Who Stare At Goats [1]. There's also a Hollywood adaptation of it. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Men_Who_Stare_at_Goats
on “The Black Vault: A FOIA obsessive’s UFO-filled empire” ↗The book "Men Who Stare at Goats" (no idea about the movie) is a terrifying look at the weaponization of the technique turned on the American public. You have to read between the lines: most people believe the CIA really was exploring…
on “Edward Bernays and the birth of public relations (2015)” ↗PSYOPs sounds like their operations are funny, but what has been leaked is actually quite chilling and terrifying. I highly recommend the book The Men Who Stare at Goats. Don't bother with the movie; they fictionalize a lot of it and changes the names of the very real military operatives. One theory proposed by people interviewed in the books goes back to Abu Ghraib:…
on “Hundreds of Army PSYOP Specialists to be promoted this month” ↗